Vets given once last chance to say goodbye to buddies killed in Korea

BUSAN, South Korea – A group of aging Korean war veterans are taking a last chance to say goodbye to buddies they lost in battle over six decades ago.

A delegation of three dozen former soldiers and sailors from the conflict, which raged between 1950-53, is visiting the United Nations cemetery in Busan, South Korea where over 2,000 Commonwealth soldiers are buried.

The visit and a commemoration service cap a week-long trip for the veterans, many of whom are in their early 80s and are likely never to return to the country where they fought.

John Stuber, who served with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, recalls being covered in blood and carrying a wounded friend down a mountain at Kapyong in June 1951.

His friend, Oliver Ouellet, died shortly after they reached the bottom.

An emotional Stuber left a bouquet of flowers at Ouellet’s grave.